Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis)

$0.25 - $5.60

Hyssop is a native of southern Europe and the Mediterranean. Historians cannot be sure if it is the same "hyssop" referred to in the Bible, but it has a long history of being a symbol of purification. Besides being used in the ritual cleansing of churches, hyssop was cultivated in monastery gardens and used to deter infection in sick rooms. Hyssop symbolized humility in medieval paintings, and its thick growth made it ideal for hedges, mazes, or traditional English knot gardens. Medicinally it provided treatment for coughs, cuts and wounds, bruises, and skin diseases. Old English country doctors often used a poultice of hyssop leaves and sugar as a protection against tetanus infection. Today hyssop grows mostly as an ornamental plant.

Hyssop: Yellow Giant (Agastache nepetoides)

$0.25 - $5.60

Giant Hyssop grows wild across the central prairie regions of the United States and Canada. Native Americans used the rough, serrated leaves in poultices to relieve poison ivy rash, as well as brewing them for tea. A popular choice for planting in perennial gardens, it attracts bees and butterflies as well as small birds. As a cut flower, it performs very well; in Holland, research and development is under way to produce a hybrid of this variety especially suited for the cut flower industry. Giant hyssop can usually be found growing wild in meadows, along fences, or in deciduous woods and brush.